Microsoft Teams Users Guide [Setup Tutorial 2024]

Setting up a group/organization with your colleagues in MS Teams can immensely boost your productivity as it’s the best way to collaborate, share & directly communicate with each other in a workplace.

But creating & organizing groups in MS Teams is no joke, especially for novice users. And that’s why we’re here, to give a comprehensive tutorial on how to set up & maintain teams/groups in Microsoft Teams.

So without further ado, let’s dive into this article.

Get Started with Microsoft Teams

The basic setup for Microsoft Teams starts with installing the desktop/mobile app and creating a Teams account or signing in with the correct Microsoft account. I’d highly recommend using an Office 365 account or an organization account provided by an admin/company to get the most out of Teams.

For more convenience, you can also use Teams on the web. Simply go to teams and sign in with your Teams account. But setting up the desktop app requires a bit more effort. Let’s see how to set up the Microsoft Teams app on your desktop:

Set Up MS Teams on Your Desktop

Setting up Microsoft Teams on your PC is doesn’t take too much effort whatsoever. Let’s see how easily you can set up the Microsoft Teams app on your desktop:

Step 1: Download & Install Microsoft Teams

• Go to Microsoft’s official download page for Teams.
• Scroll down and download Teams for work or school if you’re gonna use an organization account. Otherwise, download Teams for home or small business.
• Run the setup file and finish the installation process.

Keep in mind, you can’t use an organization account if you download the home/small business version of the app.

Step 2: Sign in with your Microsoft Account

• Run the Microsoft Teams app after the installation is complete.
• If you downloaded the Teams for work or school version, use your personal Microsoft account or an Office 365 account provided by your admin/organization to sign in.
• If you downloaded the Teams for home or small business version, use your personal Microsoft or Office 365 account to sign in.

Alternatively, you can Sign up for Teams directly from the app if you don’t have a Microsoft account.

If you don’t use an Office 365 account, you won’t be able to use certain features. Nonetheless, you can still create & use Microsoft Teams account without a paid 365 account. Let’s see how to do it.

Create a Microsoft Teams Account Without Using Office365 Account

If you don’t have an Office 365 or an organization account, you can use the basic free version of Teams. But you’d still need a Microsoft account to sign in to MS Teams. Here’s how to create a Microsoft Teams account without using an Office 365 account:

• Download Teams for home or small business from Microsoft’s official site.
• Install and launch the program.
• Click on Sign up for Teams.
• Enter your Microsoft account’s email and hit Next.
• Choose your preferred option from the How do you want to use Teams? prompt and click Next.
• Fill in the boxes with the necessary information and click on Set up Teams.

Now wait a few seconds until the process is complete. Do not refresh or exit the page during this time, as the process will reset upon disruption. After it’s done, you can use this Teams account to sign into the Teams web, desktop, or mobile app.

Setup Microsoft Teams on iPhone/Android

After you’ve created the Microsoft Teams account, use it to sign in to your phone’s MS Teams app. In case you don’t have Microsoft Teams on your phone, first you need to download it from your device’s app store.

Follow these steps to set up Microsoft Teams on your mobile device:

• Open AppStore(for iPhone) or Playstore(for Android) and tap on the search bar.
• Type microsoft teams and hit the search icon on your keyboard.
• Select Microsoft Teams from the search result and hit Install/Get. If you’re using an iPhone, use touchID or faceID to verify.
• Tap Open after the app has been installed. You can also open the app later from your phone’s app list.
• Enter your Office 365 or Microsoft account’s email and tap on Sign in.
• Input your account’s password and follow the on-screen instruction to complete the setup process.

Done! You’ll be able to use Microsoft Teams on your mobile device, but the available features will be limited according to your account type(free or Office 365).

Create a Team in Microsoft Teams

Now that you’ve set up Microsoft Teams on your preferred device, let’s see how you can create a group/team with your colleagues in MS Teams. Keep in mind, you need to have a paid Office 365 or an organization account to create or manage teams.

Admins of the organization will also have authority over the created groups/teams.

Here’s how to create a team in Microsoft Teams:

• Go to teams.microsoft.com or launch the Microsoft Teams app.
• Click on Teams from the left side pane.
• Select Join or create a team from the bottom of the teams’ list.
• Hover over the Create a team card and click on Create team.
• Choose From scratch or From a group or team. For convenience, I’ll demonstrate the From scratch option.
• Decide your team’s privacy by choosing Private or Public.
• Input the name of your team in the Team name box and add an optional description in the Description box.
• Click on Create.
• After creating a group, click on the three-dot icon next to it.
• Select Add member.
• Type the name of the members within the organization.
• Select the user you want to add and hit Add.

If you’re using a mobile device, simply open the Teams app and tap on Teams. Then click on the three-dot from the top left corner of the screen.

After that, tap on Create new team and type your Team’s name, description, and set the privacy settings. Then tap on the tick icon to complete the setup.

Setup Microsoft Teams for an Organization

Small business owners or office employees can create and set up a Microsoft Teams account for their organization. But you must use an Office 365 or an organization account when you want to set up Microsoft Teams for your organization.

I’d recommend using your personal Office 365 account if you’re gonna use Teams for your personal business or a separate company. Admins will have a certain authority over your organization account which might compromise your personal company’s security.

These are the steps to set up Microsoft Teams for an organization:

• Go to Microsoft’s official download page and click on Download for desktop. Then download Microsoft Teams for school or work.
• Click on the setup file and install the app.
• Launch the Teams app and enter your Office 365 account’s email.
• Hit Next.
• Choose For work to select the purpose of your registration and click on Next.
• Fill in the boxes for your name, your company’s name, and your country.
• Click on Set up for Teams.
• Wait a few minutes until the setup process is done. Do not close the app during the finishing process.

Voila! You’ve set up a Microsoft Teams account for your organization. Now go to Teams from the left side pane and create a new group with your associates/colleagues.

Setup a Microsoft Teams Meeting

After you’ve created a group/team in MS Teams, you can start group conversations, group calls, conferences, or a scheduled meeting at your preferred time.

Follow these steps to set up a conference/meeting in Microsoft Teams:

• Launch the Microsoft Teams app or go to Teams on the web.
• Click on Teams from the left side pane and select the team/group where you want to hold a meeting.
• Expand the drop-down menu Meet from the top right corner.
• Select Meet now to start a meeting immediately or select Schedule a meeting to start the meeting at a later time.
• If you chose Meet now:
  • Input a custom name for the meeting in the box below Choose your audio and video settings for or leave it as it is.
  • Click on the Camera toggle to turn on your webcam/laptop camera.
  • Customize the audio input from the right side. The audio options are self-explanatory.
  • Click on the Open device settings icon for extended customization.
  • After you’re done setting it up, select Join now to start the meeting.
  • Click on Copy meeting link or Add participants to invite people to the ongoing meeting.
• If you chose Schedule a meeting:
  • Type your preferred meeting name in the Add title box.
  • Write the names of the required attendees’ names in the Add required attendees box.
  • Select the meeting duration and set the start and end date & time from their respective sections.
  • Expand the drop-down menu for the repeat section and choose your preferred option. If you don’t want to repeat the meeting, leave it as it is.
  • Add a description for the meeting in the Type details for this new meeting box.
  • You can also do further customization from the top navigation bar where you’ll find the options to change the Time zone or the Response options.
  • After you’re done setting it up, hit Send to schedule the meeting. It will send an alert message to the group where you’re holding the said meeting.
  • Click on the meeting from the message to see the details of it.
  • Select Copy link to copy the link of the meeting and share it with attendees outside of the organization/group.
  • Click on Cancel meeting if you want to delete the scheduled meeting.

The meeting attendees will receive corresponding emails about the scheduled meeting or request notification to join an ongoing meeting. Note that the attendees who are not a member of the group/organization will only be able to attend the meeting as guests.

Set a Background in Teams Meeting

For many, starting a video conference/meeting might feel a little awkward when the background is not up to standard or a bit unprofessional. Not everyone can afford to have a nice studio quality background for a professional meeting.

So to remedy this issue, Teams has implemented a built-in feature to change the attendees’ background for video conferences/meetings.

Here are the steps to set a background in Teams meeting:

• Launch the Microsoft Teams app or go to teams.microsoft.com.
• Select Teams from the left side pane.
• Click on Meet.
• If you’re using the Teams app:
  • Click on the Camera toggle to turn on your device’s webcam.
  • Select Video effects. Two new rows of options will appear under the camera preview section.
  • Click on More video effects from the bottom.
  • Select Show all from the Backgrounds section in the right side pane.
  • Choose any of the preset backgrounds or upload your own background by clicking on the Add new option. You can also choose background blur from the same section.
    
• If you’re using Teams on the web:
  • Toggle on the camera option and select Background filters.
  • Choose any of the preset backgrounds from the Background settings option in the right side pane.

After you’re done setting up other options, hit Join now to start the meeting. For a scheduled meeting, you’ll be able to set the background before joining or during the meeting, which brings us to our next topic…

Change the Virtual Background During a Meeting in Teams

In case you forgot to set a virtual background before joining a Teams meeting, don’t worry. You can preview and change the background while you are actively attending a conference on Teams.

Here’s how to change the background during a Teams meeting:

• From the top navigation bar, click on More(…) > Video effects(if you’re using the Teams app) or Background effects(if you’re using Teams on the web).
• Choose your preferred background from the Backgrounds section or click on Add new to add your own custom background.
• Click on Preview to check how your chosen background looks.
• Hit Apply.

Alternatively, if you’re using the Teams app, hover over the camera icon. You’ll get the option to quickly switch the background or click on Show more video effects to see all the available background presets.

Start a Teams Meeting in Outlook

Outlook users can schedule a Teams meeting directly from the Outlook app or OWA(Outlook Web Access). Here’s how to do it:

Via Outlook App

• Launch the Outlook app on your computer and sign in with the email that was used to create your Teams account.
• Select Calendar from the left side pane.
• Double-click on the date when you want to start the meeting.
• Click on Team Meeting > Invite Attendees from the top bar.
• Set up the start & end time of the meeting and fill up other boxes as you please.
• Click on To and input the mail address of the people that you want to invite to your meetings.
• Click OK > Send.

Via Outlook Web

• Go to outlook.office.com and log in with the email that was used in your Teams account.
• Click on the Calendar icon from the left side pane.
• Double-click on the date when you want to schedule the meeting.
• Enable the toggle for Teams meeting.
• Type the mail address of the people you want to invite to the meeting in the Invite Attendees box.
• Customize or fill the other self-explanatory options/boxes according to your preference.
• Hit Send.

For the Outlook web version, you can just simply add an attendee from your Teams contact list and it will automatically set the meeting for Teams. You can skip enabling the Teams meeting toggle if you want to.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to set up Microsoft Teams to open automatically?

To run Microsoft Teams on desktop startup, go to Settings > General and tick the box for the Auto-start application option.

Can I use green screen mode in Microsoft Teams?

Yes. You can use the green screen mode of MS Teams during group video calls/conferences.

Wrapping Up

If you’re an office employee, instead of simply joining an existing Teams call, you might want to set up a group call yourself to show your workplace credibility. If so, this guide is for you.

Anyway, that’s all for today. Hopefully, this write-up has provided you with all the necessary instructions you were looking for. If you have any further queries on this particular topic, let us know in the comments below.

Adios!